Sunset Spiral
by Perfections-Cat
Summary: It takes only a moment for the depth of love to reveal itself. SasuNaru.


**AN:** My birthday gift-fic for Orin. Her request was something SasuNaru, but that was about it. So, after staring at this particular book cover, I found myself thinking of the Taj Mahal and thus told her about this story that I had imagined Sasuke as Naruto's little version of the tomb itself - all pale as marble skin, devotion and love and opulence-in-confidence with all those touches of grief and pain resting right on the water." I really just wanted to give her something beautiful, and thus this fic was born. **/AN**

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Since awakening, his eyes hadn't strayed from the sight. It was all consuming, as if the sun itself had been made liquid. All hell-fire and life. He dipped his fingers into the pool of water, watched as the ripples rolled over its surface only to fade into nothing when they hit the first vivid streak of red. A tribute from the sky above.

That too was fire. It burned with the dying days of summer. An endless march of flame across the horizon.

Naruto pulled his fingers from the water and gave them a quick flick to rid them of the excess drops. Just a bare wash of wet. He turned, movements slow but fluid, to the body that was stretched out beside him. Fingertips hovered over the small of the back that faced him, rising and falling with every breath. He inhaled, then lowered his hand.

Skating fingers up along that spine, he spared no vertebra. With each step of ascension, Naruto noted the curve of that back, the press of stomach to the sandstone-dyed blanket and the subtle slope of those shoulders. Every so often, his fingers would deviate, skirting around bone only to slide in between vertebrae, a beautiful sweeping 'S' that curved and sung of devotion. A touch to lure the senses from their quiet rest.

_Wake and feel._

When he hit the top of that spine, he paused. His fingers twirled once over the crest of bone. A solemn swirl that encouraged both sleep and awareness. As if, with one press, he could prolong the moment. But holding forever was like trying to hold water. You had it for but a moment before it slipped between your fingers, leaving behind just a pearly glisten of all that had been. Naruto retracted his hand and returned his gaze to the lake.

"Was there a reason for that?"

Lips tugged upward, a smile attempting to create a place for itself upon the face. But, there was something that prevented Naruto from handing the construction rights over. So, it sat there, half-formed and heavy.

"Do I ever need a reason to touch you?" he replied.

Sasuke shifted beside him. Head was repositioned, settled neatly on arms that remained folded, so that he could look out over the water as well. There was fire on its surface, though the flames themselves were charred around the edges by the depths below. Like skin viewed by candlelight. A flash of white (of life and want and all the little things that could kill) that danced within the shadows.

"You manage your reasons well enough when you shouldn't," Sasuke returned. Amusement shifted over his words, an iridescent slither that was just a bit insidious. A smirk peeked out in the aftermath of that statement.

Naruto gave an offended snort. "Like you're completely blameless in this."

Sasuke merely offered a look that said quite shamelessly that he was just that - _blameless_. Because he acted with the intent to obtain. Betrayal had been a savage teacher over the years, its lessons carved into memory and soul alike. Ruthlessly efficient, it got the point across. _Think only on the necessary, then act._ The consequences could be dealt with when they came, expected or not.

Things like blame and guilt. . .they were better left shuttered away for contemplation at a later date. Sasuke had learned that much in the wake of all the things that had made up his life.

Rising from the pier (and all Naruto could see was the slow ascent of a cobra, sleek and supple as it surveyed its domain), Sasuke shifted again. Close. . .then closer. He breathed out against Naruto's thigh. With a flick of his gaze upward, just briefly catching the other man's, Sasuke leaned in and set teeth to skin.

The muscle beneath gave a slight jerk. Nothing to harm, just a touch of surprise for an act Naruto had seen coming but couldn't resist.

"That hurts, jackass!"

Sasuke gave a soft purr of appreciation at the reaction he had elicited. "I know. . ."

He pushed himself backwards. The cloth beneath him bunched, revealing more of the battered woodwork underneath. It was a startling contrast, the light tan with just the hint of _new_ to the dark and rain-worn brown. Sasuke brushed his fingers over the wood before twisting onto his side and pressing up against Naruto. Again, his head lowered. Another bite was delivered just above the blond's right hip.

This time, Naruto's fingers found themselves in Sasuke's hair. A soft tug was given until compliance was provided in the form of a head tilting back. Eyes locked. Sasuke's smirk flourished beneath the heat of that gaze.

"Do that again, and I'll mark the fuck out of you," Naruto growled. The threat lingered in the rumble that shook within his chest. The dying reluctance of one trying to hold onto the moment, angered all the more by knowing it was impossible. His fingers slipped from Sasuke's hair and fell to his back once more. Yet again, Naruto turned to study the water.

He'd barely set his eyes upon the ripples of sunlight and shadow when his head was tugged back down and around. Sasuke was pushing upward, balanced on one arm, the other lofted, fingers curling around his necklace. The perfect collar - hopes and desires threaded together by one solid cord of leather. Part hand-cut beauty, part earthy sacrifice.

And lips were on his. Naruto felt his own part, mostly governed by instinct, but partially encouraged to by surprise. Sasuke's eyes, dark with selfish demands, were on his. _This isn't something you can turn from._ Teeth grazed against his lower lip.

The kiss was brief but harsh. An acknowledgment of all the fights wagered between them, and the inevitable losses that caught them both. Though. . .in some instances, the victory still came just as sweetly even as the surrenders were announced. Sasuke pulled back slightly, then leaned in once again to lick at the corner of Naruto's mouth. As if nothing more than whim had control of him at the moment.

He released the necklace with a final tug. Nothing to break or bruise, just to remind. Sasuke was smirking when he lowered himself back down to the pier.

Naruto's tongue flicked out to soothed the spot Sasuke's had burned. He could still feel it, the power of that desire against his mouth. A beautifully controlled indulgence. . .but Sasuke has always been so damnably good about that. Playing with fire and yet never getting burnt. Sometimes, he wondered if the other man was nothing but fire himself in the end. A god those flames bowed to, that danced for him alone, exotic entices in every sway of red and gold. If fire could fall in love with any being, Naruto was certain Sasuke would hold its heart.

He was on his back now, the blanket wrapped haphazardly over his groin. Sasuke pulled the material a little lower so he could scratch at a hip. Fingers barely glancing against his skin, they left behind only the faintest flush of red where his nails had managed to land their blows. His other arm was tucked behind his head, face towards the setting sun, his gaze roaming over the water around them.

"Where will you send me?"

Naruto blinked at that. The question was asked so casually. . .and when he looked at Sasuke, he could tell that the other man really didn't care. The where's or why's – it always boiled down to getting the job done. And yet, that hurt. Because this wasn't something to be taken so lightly. After a moment's pause (to get anger and pain back under control though Naruto could feel them both lunging for his eyes, unwilling to be denied their right to exist), he sighed and scratched at the back of his head. His hand stilled, stuck in the mess of blond. Forgotten.

". . .Where you can do the most damage," he whispered. Hearing that made his heart stumble, beat rushing headlong into beat until there was no room for any more. Not until it could untangle the chaos that had been created.

Turning his head, Sasuke shifted his attention to Naruto, eyes roving over the other man's face. Grasping every emotion displayed there, ever the open book. Even now. . .He smirked.

"The Council wouldn't have it any other way."

"That wouldn't be such a fucking issue anymore if you just. . . " – a pause, followed by a fuming huff of frustration and the lifeless drop of his hand – ". . .Can't you even act the least bit sorry?!"

Sasuke gave an irritated grunt.

"You would just have to comply! Even if only som. . ."

"Why should I when my own Hokage barely does that himself?" Sasuke shot back before Naruto could finish. There was a decided coolness to his words despite their quick deployment - the suggestion that again, even in this, he couldn't really be bothered with such things as _compliance_. And in that, the silently implied, _the job is always done, just my way, not theirs_.

Naruto gave a low growl. "You are still such a fucking bastard. . ."

Rolling back onto his side, Sasuke stretched out the arm beneath his head and reached for the pile of discarded clothing. There was a rattle from a half-empty kunai pouch, which was pushed aside in favor of the canteen that sat just beneath it. Pulling it towards him, Sasuke glanced back at Naruto. "Did you want something else?"

He unscrewed the top, the motions of his fingers deft and sure. Pushing himself up into a sitting position, Sasuke brought the canteen to his mouth and drank, long and slow. His eyes remained on Naruto the whole time, a steady stare that dared defiance while looking for all the little gestures that acknowledged the truth spoken. They were there, hidden in the twitch of fingers against the wood, in the blink of eyes that glanced off to the side, in lips that pursed together in a stubborn line. So unwilling to accept, yet having nothing left to launch another attack.

Naruto grabbed the canteen from Sasuke's lips and hand. "Doesn't mean you're not a damn asshole, Sasuke."

The sip he took was hasty, fueled by an unsettled anger that knew not what to do with itself. So, instead, it took out its fury on the water, which was warm on his tongue, warm as it wet his lips and spilled from the corner of his mouth.

Sasuke was quick to shoot in, for an opportunity wasted might as well have been equivalent to shooting yourself in the foot. His tongue traced the errant line of water, from chin to mouth, then flicked over lips that were as slick as a rain-drenched blade. Just a punishing as well, for when Naruto fed into the kiss that followed, it was hard and unforgiving.

And then softened just like that. A quiet confession of worry and guilt. Sasuke took the emotional shift in stride, adjusted as fluidly as water around rock. He could feel fingers on his arm. Touching. Knowing. Tracing every line, every swipe of ink that marred his forearm. Tilting his head slightly, Sasuke nipped Naruto just beneath his lip.

"Yet, you followed them in this. . ."

Naruto's gaze dropped. His fingers stilled, then drifted slowly up Sasuke's arm until fingers could perch neatly on his shoulder. Years ago, he had accused Tsunade of such a thing. . .not understanding at all the choices that came when power was placed upon you. Sometimes. . .sometimes it was easy to think you could defy everything before you, to scream that anything else would have been preferable, a life saved if another choice had just been made. And yet. . .

"It's the most logical thing to do. . ." Naruto breathed out quietly. Sitting back, he exhaled heavily, ran a hand through his hair and touched the crystal that rested against his chest. As if it knew, a quiet presence that offered its condolences but never betrayed the hopes within.

The water around them still burned, but Naruto could see the shadows claiming more and more of the surface for itself when his gaze swept over it. His lips set into a somber line. For a moment, he shut his eyes and simply breathed. Tasted the scent of fire on his tongue with every inhale. Something so passionate in its destruction. . .

He gasped softly when heat coiled just beneath his ear, when lips touched to skin. Eyes flew open when teeth nibbled delicately on his earlobe.

"If you keep moping, marking the _fuck_ out of you will be the least of what I'll do," Sasuke purred. A taunting sort of sound that elicited the tight growl he had been searching for.

"It's not a fucking joke," Naruto retorted as he pulled his head back with a sharp jerk. Eyes narrowed, he took in the cool confidence of Sasuke's gaze and found himself increasingly infuriated by the ease with which the other man operated. "If there was something better, I'd choose it. . ."

Sasuke's smirk spilled over into a smile, thoroughly arrogant and completely unabashed by it.

"This is your fault for being such a damn bastard and being so fucking good at it, you know!"

Leaning in again (all serpent's ease and charm in that simple slide forward), Sasuke brushed his mouth against Naruto's. A pulse of breath, hot but not quite wanting. Just a sample of all that Sasuke was, god of fire and everything that came with it. Destructive even as it sparked life. So willing to burn it all down just to see the glory in every flicker of light. Just to start all over again.

"I don't want to hear your excuses. . .just your orders."


End file.
